After a 5 year struggle with anorexia (with purging tendencies), depression, self harm and over exercising I have now been recovered for 4 years and i use my blog to help others in the same situation i once was.
I am now a happy and positive person who wants to inspire those struggling to choose recovery and to take control over life and happiness again!

Life without Anorexia

My motto is 'Dont let the sadness of your past & the fear of your future ruin the happiness of your present'

My life at the moment is completely different to how it once was. I spent 5 years sick with anorexia nervosia and depression as well as struggling with self harm and overexercising. I spent 2 years in different treatment centres.

And since 2012 i have been declared healthy from my eating disorder.

I have been blogging for 7 years, and my whole journey is written in my posts. I now represent healthy and happiness. I want to show anyone struggling that it is possible to recover, no matter how hard it may seem.

I now blog about recovery, my life, veganism and positivity!

If you have any questions leave them in the comment section as i am much quicker at answering there, otherwise you can always send an email: lifewithoutanorexia@hotmail.com

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Friday, July 29, 2016

Having a healthy and functioning body

Yesterday was a day where i felt extra happy and proud to have a healthy and functioning body. A body that works, a body that is strong, a body that can move and lift and carry and live life. Now a days there is so much focus on appearance, looking a certain way but forgetting the most important thing - health and happiness. A person can workout 6 days a week but still not have a healthy or functioning body - either because all they are focused on is huge muscles but ask them to run 1km and they can't do that, or because someone works out far too much for their body and so they wear themselves out and just become weaker and more tired compared to healthier and stronger.

Appearance means very little, but society tells us that is all we should care about. Media is constantly telling us about new diets which have little calories and lack all the food groups or macronutrients necessary. Media tells us about the new "perfect body" or new "trend" which people then want to follow manically and to achieve somehow. People jumping onto restrictive diets and over exercising or eating the wrong foods or tearing themselves apart mentally just to look a certain way and all the while they are losing their health and maybe even their happiness.

While working at a store you see alot of people everyday. And yesterday i saw people who were both morbidly obese and extremely thin (for whatever reason that may be). I dont judge people and i dont judge people based on their looks either and i am just doing my job and dont focus on what people buy either so i dont think about that. However what i did notice yesterday was how the people who had extreme weight problems (whether over or underweight), how slowly they moved, how everything took longer time for them and the mental clarity wasnt quite there and not to mention that the action of lifting the food onto the band and then packing the items into their bags and then actually lifting the bags away - it was a huge process. And trying to carry the bags away - figuring out what was the best strategy to leave the shop with all their items at once, but lacking the strength to try to carry the bags. It made me realize just how important health is.... of course i can't judge just based on appearance, but at times it is not hard to see from how a person "behaves/moves" that they arent healthy.

And it just made me so proud over my own body. For many people they can't do basic things like go food shopping and then get all the food home on their own - instead they need to buy minimal and everyday because otherwise they can't carry it home (which of course is understandable if you live far away or just prefer to shop minimal and everyday etc). Some people can't go for walks, walk up hills or take stairs without feeling dizzy or too tired. Some people can't even work because they dont have a healthy body enough for it.

If you can't do basic things in your life or to live life then what is the point? (Or i mean, life is always worth living!) But what i mean is that so many people get caught up in wanting to look a certain way and on the way they lose their health as they eat too little or workout too much. And then on the other end of the spectre people who eat too much and dont exercise at all.

For me personally, being able to live life and do things in life and have a body that is healthy enough for that (Also taking into consideration my Cystic fibrosis. So of course there are days i might not be as healthy or functioning but in the whole i am very physically healthy).

In my life i have been underweight with no energy and a not so functioning body, i have had periods in my life i have worked out so much and had no energy for anything else, i had a period of low body fat and visible abs which did not make me healthier or happier.

So what can i say? Well visible abs and low body fat percent or hours spent exercising but no energy to actually live life... not worth it. The important thing is a body that works and you feel that you can live the life you want.

You need to take care of your body, treat it right and do what is best for your health and happiness. Stop putting your health at risk or neglecting your health to look a certain way, or just neglecting your health in general. Focus on having a healthy body that can do what it needs to do!

At times that might mean resting and eating more, other times it might mean going for a jog or going to the gym 2 times a week, other times it might mean hiking up mountains and taking walks in fresh air, other times it might mean green smoothies and fruit bowls and other times chips and fries. Your body is not a machine or a robot, it WILL give up eventually if you treat it wrong or you will end up will illnesses or injuries and that is not fun. Take it from someone who knows first hand - long lasting injuries due to treating my body wrong and it affects me in my daily life now. But i do the best i can to still have a healthy body despite all those things!

A very long post, but i am just thankful for my body and for what it can do. And in all honesty, i care very little about appearance because it is so irrelevant in the bigger picture. What is important for me is that i can live a life i want - which includes exercise - and to have the energy and ability to do that!!!

2 comments:

I got to thinking about this and it made me realise just how much I do value the body I have. About a week ago my back "went" - an old injury that flares up from time to time caused by too much heavy/incorrect lifting when I worked in a nursing home - and I have been in pain and discomfort since. After reading this post I thought about all the people that are living with pain like this permanently, I mean I know mine will go in a couple of weeks and I`ll be back to normal, but what about those who are living like this all the time? simple things like walking up the stairs, getting dressed, even getting on and off the loo - all are mammoth tasks at the moment for me. So I am grateful for my health, for my ability to do things and hope that in future I will try not to take for granted my body but will instead respect it and look after myself better. Health and wellbeing is so precious you just don`t realise how much until it is compromised.

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About Me

Hello :)
I have had Anorexia and depression for c.a 5 years and been in and out of hospital for 2 years. But now im living my life like a normal teenager, I still have my ups and downs now and again, but i still stay positive and never give up.
In my blog i write about my daily life, and my opinions and views on certain things and i bring up topics and information that i think needs to be passed on!!
Leave a comment - love reading comments from people :)
If anyone wants to get in contact with me.
Mail me here --> lifewithoutanorexia@hotmail.com